Friday Fright Nights
by ChelberNo.1
Summary: Modern AU. Zeki. Sometimes, you need to create new traditions to keep life interesting. Fluff, mostly.


**A/N: Dedicated to my sister, ikisbean0, since this is her Christmas present! **

**Modern AU, Set in a city somewhere. No vampires or hunters or anything like that. Kaname will be a no-show. **

**I am not sure how many chapters this will have, but not many. Only two or three. This was originally going to be a one-shot, but… yeah, no. Couldn't be bothered cramming it all in one chapter. **

**Hope you enjoy! **

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Tradition <strong>

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><p>School holidays were boring.<p>

Despite her disapproval towards holidays, Yuki Cross was a fairly normal kid. Just a usual, eleven-year-old school girl. She did her homework each night (except when it was holidays, dammit), and kept her room tidier than most kids her age would.

Her foster father loved her, and she loved him back, even if she thought him a little… bizarre. They owned a small house with a backyard in the outskirts of the city. The school she went to was decent, and her teachers were nice to her. She actually found maths easy-ish, she was good at sports, and she made friends easily.

In addition to being normal, Yuki Cross was also very lucky.

So this normal, lucky little girl stared out her bedroom window, and thought it again. _School holidays are so boring. _

She was more of an outdoor-type person. She was happier when she could run around, play a game with someone. If she was moving, or doing _something_ to keep her mind occupied, then she'd (and everyone around her) stay sane. That's why she did well in school, she reasoned. In class, there was always something to be done, and during recess she could run around and play tag with her friends.

If she wasn't running around, she'd be talking to someone. Yuki wasn't good at doing stuff alone. She was a social person, loved being around other people.

And that was why school holidays drove her mad. That's why they always drove her mad.

Her foster father worked in a high school; in fact, he was the Chairman. And while that kept him busy all week while school was still in, it also kept him busy during most of the holidays. He had this second job, also, one he wouldn't tell her about, that kept him away often.

The friends she had in school lived more in the city, too far for her them to walk over and visit. She'd call them, but she didn't have cell phone of her own yet, and the Chairman said that she should only use the home phone for emergencies.

She was an only child. The only child that the Chairman had cared for, foster or otherwise. So talking to someone to chase away the boredom was out.

She wasn't the type of girl who could spend hours doing up her hair, even though it was long for it.

They had a small backyard. She had a basketball stashed under her bed. While the grass made the ball hard to bounce, it wasn't impossible. She had spent many hours outside, using the fence and backdoor as a rebound, rolling and bouncing the ball up and down the backyard.

But she grew weary of this activity after long, the novelty of it quickly wearing out.

So there Yuki sat, at her bedroom window, staring out into the small backyard. The fence could probably use a new coat of paint. The house behind the fence needed its windows washed. That tree hanging over the side could use pruning.

She sighed, her breath fogging the glass. _School holidays are boring. Especially when there's no-one to share them with. _

Not for the first time, she wished she had a sibling. Foster or otherwise. She'd always dreamed of a big brother who always took care of her. Or a younger brother, or sister, that _she _could take care of.

That'd be nice.

She doubted the Chairman would take another child under his care, but she never stopped hoping.

_Only a few more weeks until school starts again… _

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><p>The school bus was noisy, and crowded. As per usual. Yuki sat somewhere around the middle of the bus, by the window. As per usual. She had the double seat to herself, so she had placed her bag on the seat beside her, and she had her nose buried in a book.<p>

As per usual.

Although school had been going for a few weeks, not much had changed. She had the same teachers and classes, and the same students were in her classes. The routine at home hadn't changed much, either. One of the only things that _had _changed was she convinced her foster father to nail up a back board and hoop on the garage, so she could shoot goals with her basketball.

For the first few days, she could barely get the damned thing through the hoop. Now, her record of back-to-back goals was 12.

By the end of the week, she hoped to get it up to 15.

But apart from that, life was the same as always. Yuki didn't really mind; routine was good, safe. Yes, it got dreadfully boring at times… most of the time, but it was still safe.

The school bus drove over a bump, jolting everyone inside. Yuki's book flew out of her hands. She sighed, bent down to retrieve it. She had lost her bookmark. Without bothering to find her page again, she shoved it into her bag. They were almost at the school, and she wasn't really interested in the novel anyway.

The bus shuddered to a stop outside of the school gates, and there was chaos as everybody stood up at the same time, squabbling and shoving so they could be out of the bus first. Sometimes, Yuki was in the midst of it, shrieking and pushing, one of the most ruthless students. Today, though, she decided to sit out. It took a few minutes, but she eventually got off the school bus, filing through the school gates with the rest of the kids.

As she trudged up to the locker rooms, she wondered when life would… change. Get interesting. When _something _would happen. Not that routine was bad, but… Routine wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. Change could be good, if you let it.

"Hey, what're you thinking about?" Yuki looked up to see her best friend, Yori, leaning against the door to the locker rooms.

"What?" Yuki frowned. "What was I thinking about?"

Yori gave a shrug. "I'm not the one in your head, silly. You just looked deep in thought, that's all."

Yuki smoothed her skirt over. "Just thinking." She smiled sheepishly. "Wondering about things, y'know?"

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><p>The Chairman wasn't home when Yuki got back from school.<p>

It wasn't unusual; school was back in, and he had things to do at the high school. He usually got home an hour or two after her. It wasn't that bad, really. She'd do her homework, read a book, and maybe even watch some TV. Either that, or she'd go out back, and shoot some hoops.

15. She needed to get 15 by the end of the week.

Eager to reach her goal, she dumped her bag by the kitchen table (she'd do her homework later, there was plenty of time), bouncing to her bedroom to fetch her basketball like a hypo puppy. It was kind of sunny outside, warmer than average for a late autumn afternoon. Within a few weeks it'd be snowing, Yuki reckoned.

She got into a steady rhythm with the basketball and hoop. Bounce, throw, catch. Bounce, throw, catch. Bounce, trip, throw, chase the ball. Bounce, throw, catch. After around half an hour, her top score of back-to-back goals had reached 13.

With her nose red and fingers numb, she decided to call it a day. Resting the basketball under her arm, she made her way back into the house, dumping the ball into her room and wondering into the kitchen to do her homework.

Fifteen minutes in, and a few pages of algebra homework later, the kitchen was illuminated as headlights swept across the front of the house, and the sound of a car pulling into the driveway caught Yuki's attention.

As the car engine turned off, Yuki jumped up, running to the door to meet her foster father. Throwing it open, grinning, she spread her arms wide, in a gesture of welcome. "Chairman! You're home e-"

She cut off as she took in the scene in front of her.

Two cold, purple eyes met her own.

The Chairman stood on the front porch, his hand resting on the back of a smaller figure, a boy Yuki had never seen before.

He was wrapped in a coat, the lapels pulled up to his ears. It was too big for him so it reached his ankles – the Chairman's by the look of it. In the dimming light, Yuki could just make out dark stains around the side of the boy's head, around the tips of his silver hair.

She hoped desperately it wasn't blood.

"Yuki," the Chairman started, while she stared in shock. "This is Zero Kiryu. He, his parents and brother were walking through the streets tonight, and were mugged. He is the only one who survived. I've decided to take him under my care."

Yuki could only nod numbly, still gripping the doorknob with one hand. The boy – Zero – had turned his gaze to the ground, still clutching the coat around him.

The Chairman sighed, adjusting his glasses. "I need to go back to the police station to take care of some legal business. Can you take care of Zero in the meantime? I won't be long."

Yuki nodded again, unable to find her tongue. The Chairman gave a small, sad smile, before rubbing Zero's shoulders gently. "I'll be back soon, okay?" Zero didn't respond, and the Chairman sighed again, before shooting an encouraging look at Yuki and getting back into his car and driving off.

Gingerly, Yuki approached Zero's side, leaning up to put an arm around his shoulders. He looked a little older than her, around a year, and was taller than her. "We'll just go inside now, is that okay?" She waited for an answer, but he didn't give one. He just kept staring at the ground. Yuki gently coxed him forward, into the house.

"Um, I guess you want something better to wear? The Chairman's coat mustn't be very comfortable." Once again, no answer. Just more staring at the floor. "Okay, I'll just go and get one of his jumpers for you. You'll be fine here? I won't be long."

She left him there, standing in the hallway, and rushed to the Chairman's room, tearing through his closet for something suitable. Snatching up a jumper, she returned to where Zero stood, exactly in the same place.

She held out the jumper, and a few seconds dragged by. Yuki bit her lip. "I, uh, do you want help? I'm just going to help, is that that okay? If you don't want me to, just say so."

Carefully, she unwrapped the Chairman's clock from around him, hands shaking. Zero stood perfectly still. When the coat was finally off, Yuki gasped.

Under the coat, he wore no shirt. Dried blood coated one side of his neck, staining his hair. It spread from his ear to his shoulder, dark against his pale skin.

_Oh, my God. _

She stood frozen for a few seconds, silently panicking. "Oh, my- are you hurt? Is that-" _Is that blood yours? _

Zero said nothing.

_The Chairman wouldn't have taken him here if was injured. He would have taken him to a hospital. He's fine. _

Taking a deep breath, Yuki gripped his arm, and lead him down the hall. "I'm going to run you a bath, okay? You'll be able to wash all the… you'll be able clean yourself. You're going to be fine, all right? You're gonna be fine."

As Zero numbly followed her down the hallway to the bathroom, Yuki prayed and prayed that he would be alright.

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><p>The funeral was on a sunny day. One of the last sunny days of the season.<p>

There weren't many people there, but the people who did come made up for the lack of numbers. Family, friends, co-workers, and peers, all grieving.

Three caskets lay side by side, wreaths of white lilies placed upon them.

Zero sat by himself in the back of the room, hands in his lap, staring ahead blankly.

Yuki looked over her shoulder at him from where she was standing beside the Chairman. Silently, she tugged at his sleeve, getting his attention. He looked down at her. She glanced at Zero again, then back up at him. He nodded.

With a small smile, she left the Chairman, and walked over to Zero. Hesitantly, she sat down beside him. "You're going to be fine, you know. It's going to get better."

Zero just dropped his head and closed his eyes.

When he didn't respond, she dropped her head as well. "I lost my parents. They were in a car crash while I was in school. I was only five." She felt him lift his head to look at her, so she kept going. "I was really sad. I even stopped eating. But the Chairman, he helped me. He got me through it. And I'm happy now." She squeezed his hand. "And you will, too. I promise."

After a moment's pausing, Yuki covered his hand with hers. "I promise," she whispered. "You'll get through this. I will always be here to help – _we _will always be here."

She looked up to meet his eyes. His face was blank but his eyes… he just looked so lost.

Yuki squeezed his hand. "We'll get through it, Zero. I swear to it."

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><p>"At least the snow's starting to melt,"<p>

Yuki looked around from where she was shooting hoops. Again. Zero was leaning against the fence, looking bored. Yuki shrugged. "I guess. I don't usually mind the snow, but I hate it when it makes my socks all wet." She smiled, but Zero looked away.

She sighed, and turned back to the hoop, stepping forward and taking a shot. The basketball bounced off the rim.

She ran after the ball as it rolled away, tripping up in the snow. Four months had passed since the funeral. The winter they had had been colder and longer than usual, keeping Yuki and Zero locked up inside the house most days after school.

If it wasn't snowing outside, though, Yuki would retrieve her basketball from under her bed, and ask Zero if he wanted to come out and shoot some goals. He would always come, even if only because he needed a change of scenery.

He had never actually played with her, though. He always just sat on the step to the back door, or lent on the fence, watching her. She had asked a few times if he had wanted a turn, but he would just shake his head.

Finally retrieving the basketball, she tucked it under her arm and trudged back through the snow, back up to the goal hoop. Zero was still leaning on the fence, watching her, with an eyebrow raised.

Yuki did a double take. He had a slight amused on his face, just enough so Yuki could notice it. It caught her off guard, and she stood frozen for a moment. Then she recovered, tossing her over her shoulder defensively.

"What? Don't think I can shoot goals properly?"

Zero snorted, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I _know _you can't shoot goals properly,"

Now it was Yuki's turn to raise an eyebrow. Turning to the goal, she lined the ball up, tongue sticking out, and took a shot. Thankfully, the ball swished through the net, bouncing off the wall behind the goal and back towards Yuki. She turned back to Zero, triumphant.

"You were saying?"

"That you can't shoot goals." He shook his head. "You did it wrong."

"I did not!" She gestured to the goal. "Didn't you see? I got it in!"

"Fluke, then."

"Was not! I've gotten 19 goals in a row, once! You should know, you were there!"

Zero shrugged.

Huffing, Yuki crossed her arms, as well as she could while still holding the ball. "Well, I'd like to see you do better, then." It was a plea, not a challenge. _Please, open up. Do something, apart from just sitting there. _

Zero looked at her for a long moment, and Yuki thought he was going to refuse. Then, unbelievably he stuck his chin out, and held his hand out for the ball. Trying to hide her smile, because this was now officially a competition of the goals, she handed it over, then moved out of his way.

She watched as he bounced the ball, then stopped, because the snow wouldn't allow it. Huffing, he lifted his arms and threw the ball, getting a clean goal. The ball rolled back to him, settling at his feet, and he threw a triumphant smirk at Yuki.

"Nah uh," she waved a finger, her heart beating fast. _He actually smiled! _"The high score is 19. You have to beat that."

He scoffed again. "It'll be easy," he mumbled, grabbing the ball and straightening up to take another shot. Once again, he got in in easy.

And again. And again. And again, again, again.

He was on his 32nd shot when the basketball finally bounced off the rim, falling back to the snow-covered concrete. He grabbed the ball, turning to face Yuki. "So, what does that make it? 31? I think I just set a new record."

Yuki just gaped at him, mouth opened. "H… how did you get so many?"

Zero chucked the ball back to Yuki, and shrugged. "I know what I'm doing." He turned and walked to the back door, kicking snow off his boots.

Yuki rushed to keep up, gripping the basketball. "Will you teach me, then?"

Zero looked at her.

"Please? I've always wanted to get good at basketball, but I've never had a teacher…" _And you need something to do, other than just sitting on the ground, watching me. _

He considered her for a moment, then turned and walked into the house. "Okay," he simply said, quietly over his shoulder.

Yuki beamed, although he couldn't see it, and bounded in after him.

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><p>Zero was in the year above her in school, so Yuki usually only saw him at lunch times and recesses during the day. They'd walk to the bus stop together every morning, usually not talking. Well, <em>Zero <em>didn't talk much. Yuki did plenty of talking for the two of them.

When the bus came, Yuki would nudge Zero in front of her, making him go up before her, a thing she had started doing since he had come to live with them. It annoyed the hell out of him, but he put up with it. Once they were on the bus, Yuki would wave cheerfully at the bus driver, who'd smile and wave back, and then she'd bully Zero down the aisle, until she found a spare seat. He'd get pushed into the window seat, with her beside him.

With all the babying, Zero had expected her to wait for everyone else to get off the bus before she 'let' him go (He could take care of himself on the bus without her, he told himself). But, that wasn't always the case.

As the weeks stretched into months, she began getting… road rage. He couldn't describe it any other way. As soon as the bus stopped, it was a war zone. With all the kids rushing to get off, it was hard to even get _out_ of your seat, much less off the actual bus, but Yuki wouldn't take that.

Not. At. All.

She was like this bus demon. She'd launch herself into the midst of the chaos, screaming like a banshee, pushing and shoving, clearing a pathway, flattening kids twice her size. She'd turn and gesture to him with a 'c'mon, Zero!' and then charge down the aisle.

He would have no choice but to charge after her. Like running with the bulls, it was.

As she'd bounce down the stairs, she'd turn and wave to the bus driver again, who'd always smile fondly and wave back. And mouth 'good luck' to Zero.

Then, as soon as they were on the school grounds, she'd settle, and return back to normal, like nothing had happened.

Zero had no idea whether to laugh or hide.

Before, he had no idea that _this _was the true Yuki.

Luckily, though, she didn't turn… scary when he was teaching her basketball. She was determined, hyperactive, but not daunting. And she was a very quick learner. Very soon, he was struggling to get more free throws in a row than her, not that he ever let it show. When he only bet her by five throws one time, she'd turned to him with a smug smile, much too smug for his liking. So he shrugged, like it was no big deal, like he was going easy on her.

Unfortunately, she had taken that as a personal challenge.

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><p>It became a tradition, really. Every night after school, if the weather allowed, they'd go out in the backyard, and practise their basketball skills. Mainly, he'd teach her things, a bit awkwardly at first, but then it became second nature to just lean over and adjust how she held the ball, how she stood and held herself.<p>

Sometimes, though, she'd have something to offer _him. _Correcting his footwork, teaching him how to be light on his feet. They'd play one-on-one until dusk, or do drills, or just take turns taking shots.

Once it became too dark to see, they'd bolt inside, and rush through their homework. Usually, they had around half an hour before the Chairman got home, and if he knew they were playing basketball instead of focusing on their schooling… _well. _Let's just say as the chairman for a high school, he always put schooling first, and got… _anxious _if they didn't do the same.

In other words, he'd chuck a fit if he came home early to see them goofing off in the backyard. (This had almost happened several times, but, as it turns out, Zero had very good hearing, and could tell when the Chairman was driving up the street. They'd both rush inside and pretend to be deep in their homework.)

Saturday mornings were reserved for the play-off, period. Rain, hail, or shine.

They'd both get up at around eight, eat breakfast and spend a half-hour glaring at each over, promising the other that today, _they _would be the one to get the most free-throws in a row, and _they'd _be the victorious one.

Then, at nine o'clock, Yuki would retrieve her basketball from under her bed, and they'd both stomp outside, still glaring at each other.

Yuki would go first. Zero would count how many she got.

Then Zero would go, and Yuki would count.

The personal bests and world (well, backyard) records would be committed to memory. Then, the winner would be announced. It was usually Zero, and he would just stand there and give her the _smuggest _look in the world, while she crossed her arms and claimed that her day was coming, just wait.

Sundays were spent catching up on any homework they had missed during the week.

Then the whole week would start again.

For Zero's first few weeks at the Cross household, it was just routine. Something that was done because it was normal.

Now, though, it was _tradition. _Something that was done because it was _needed _to be done.

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><p><strong>AN: And that's just the start. Next up, the tradition of Friday Fright Nights is born! **

**Don't forget to review! **

**Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all! **


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